The effects of different concentrations of trace element solutions (A₅ and B₆) and different quantites of EDTA in media on the contents of metal elements in Spirulina maxima were studied.The results show that by increasing the concentrations of A₅ and trace elements from lmL/L (Zarrouk medium) to 3mL/L in medium, the contents of most metal ions in algae increased.However,if A₅ and B₆ were increased to 5mL/L, no more increase of metal contents was observed except for K, Zn and Pb.The metal contents of algae were decreased when increasing EOT A in medium, while the contents of Cr, Fe, Sr and Ti in algae were, when ED-TA was 0.08g/L in medium, higher than those in the algae cultured without EOT A.The results suggest that higher concentrations of metal ions in medium increased algae absorbing metal ions and EDTA can make algae absorbing metal ions decreased. The experiment on the adsorption of heavy metal elements on intact algal cells shows that S.majeima strongly adsorbed Co. Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb ions in 30 minutes.The adsorption capacity of cells killed by formol was comparable to living cells, strongly suggesting that the adsorption was independent of physiological reactions.